Hired!
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- Publication date
- 1940
- Usage
- Public Domain
- Topics
- Sales: Training
- Digitizing sponsor
- Chevrolet Division, General Motors Corporation
Shotlist
Ken Smith sez: "Jimmy" is a new Chevrolet salesman and a hard worker, but he's struggling. His boss, "Mr. Warren," pegs Jimmy's lack of success on a lack of initiative, but elderly "Dad" sets him straight. "Men need leadership," Dad explains. "Leadership pays!" Mr. Warren rethinks his own approach and soon every man on his sales team is raking in the dough. Why Mr. Warren, a man in his forties, still lives with his parents is not explained, nor is it understandable why Dad was allowed to drape a stupid-looking rag over his head at the climax of his serious oration. Very strange.
CHEVROLET AUTOMOBILES SALES TRAINING CITIES TOWNS STREETS DEALERS MEN OFFICES WHITE COLLAR WORKERS INTERI0RS ROOMS DOORS HOUSES EXTERIORS WOMEN SALESMEN TELEPHONES
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- Addeddate
- 2002-07-16 00:00:00
- Closed captioning
- no
- Collectionid
- 07909
- Color
- B&W
- Country
- United States
- Fil-transport
- boost
- Identifier
- Hired1940
- Identifier-cid
- bafybeibsvawv4wz6l3xocfgtfxqzs45lsm6fw62nklvkzmtk2luqth6cwu
- Identifier-commp
- baga6ea4seaqdh4mhtmuh4nxqz2nrcp5svl2m3uzdwgmmg5hjf2bcyckh274umnq
- Numeric_id
- 527
- Proddate
- 1940
- Run time
- 18:12
- Sound
- Sd
- Type
- MovingImage
comment
Reviews
Subject: Sell a Chevy THIS Way
Mom has the frumpiest housecoat imaginable.
I'm still wrapping my head around the storyline here. Basically, Chevrolet salesmen need to be shadowed by their boss (and the two team up on vacillating potential clients) to make sales. Why is it, then, that Jimmy Hill was a successful salesman elsewhere without that kind of babysitting?
For that matter, why do the mosquitos only attack the old guy and not the son?
And did people go door-to-door selling cars in 1941 like Jimmy appears to be doing?
And why does Mr. Warren have names of "three Chevrolet owners...about ready to buy" sitting in a card box. Shouldn't they have been given to a salesman earlier?
And, Mr. Warren, do you think biting off the head of a guy who made a sale is an encouraging technique to deal with employees?
I like Sam Benavide's score (I presume it's his), with sprightly marching music as Jimmy is determined to make a sale, and a slower, minor-key variation as he walks depressed along the street.
There's a really awkward cut at 11:47 , Make sure you see the bad back projection at 13:12 .
Mr. Milton finally buys a Chevrolet after a ridiculous number of diagonal wipes. Little did anyone expect buying "year after year" would end soon, thanks to Pearl Harbor.
Subject: Jimmy
Subject: Jam Handy, Detroit
Anyone notice the car they "drove" out to the neighborhood in had no windshield glass? What was that all about? And they sure looked silly as hell sitting in that motionless car wearing fedoras with scenery rushing by on a screen in the background.
Sales is so depressing. I cant see how anybody could get into that. But nonetheless, a good film which makes some important points and shows off Detroit's once fine middle class housing.
Subject: Hired does the job
Subject: Weird but Informative
Even the scene that most provoked the SOL crew's ire, in which Jimmy's boss criticizes how he concluded a new sale, makes a good point. Yes, it seems unfair that Jimmy should get an earful after a *successful* sale ("But he bought the flippin' CAR!") his boss makes an astute point about how you don't want the prospect to be forced to turn all his attention to the road before you've had a chance to make your pitch. The boss's point is that there's always room for improvement and he puts it across pretty well, I thought.
Subject: Professional sales management
The film assumes only men sell cars, of course basically true back then. But much of its advice about mentoring sales people remains valid today.
Subject: Hanky on your head
Subject: Hired!
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ****. Weirdness: ****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****. Also available on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Episode #423: Bride of the Monster.
Part 2: Part 2 finds Jimmy's boss getting some homespun wisdom from his old man about dealing with his salesmen. He suddenly realizes he's supposed to actually manage them (d'oh!!). He immediately runs back to the dealership and starts helping the salesmen in various ways, and amazingly enough, it works! Even Jimmy sells a car! This is even better than Part 1. The boss' dad is really weirdÂÂwhile he dispenses his homespun wisdom to his son, he swats at invisible insects and eventually puts a handkerchief on his bald head, to keep them off, I guess. And you get the distinct impression that the 40-something boss still lives with his parents.
Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: *****. Weirdness: *****. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: *****. Also available on Mystery Science Theater 3000, Episode #424: Manos, the Hands of Fate.